Isaiah · Bible in Basic English
Isaiah 29 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Ho! Ariel, Ariel, the town against which David made war; put year to year, let the feasts come round:
1 Woe to Ariel! Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add year to year; let the feasts come around;
2 And I will send trouble on Ariel, and there will be weeping and cries of grief; and she will be to me as Ariel.
2 then I will distress Ariel, and there will be mourning and lamentation. She shall be to me as an altar hearth.
3 And I will make war on you like David, and you will be shut in by earthworks, and I will make towers round you.
3 I will encamp against you all around you, and will lay siege against you with posted troops. I will raise siege works against you.
4 And you will be made low, and your voice will come out of the earth, and your words will be low out of the dust; and your voice will come out of the earth like that of a spirit, making bird-like noises out of the dust.
4 You will be brought down, and will speak out of the ground. Your speech will mumble out of the dust. Your voice will be as of one who has a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and your speech will whisper out of the dust.
5 And the army of your attackers will be like small dust, and all the cruel ones like dry stems gone before the wind; suddenly it will come about.
5 But the multitude of your foes will be like fine dust, and the multitude of the ruthless ones like chaff that blows away. Yes, it will be in an instant, suddenly.
6 The Lord of armies will come in with thunder and earth-shaking and great noise, with rushing wind and storm, and the flame of burning fire.
6 She will be visited by Yahweh of Armies with thunder, with earthquake, with great noise, with whirlwind and storm, and with the flame of a devouring fire.
7 And all the nations making war on Ariel, and all those who are fighting against her and shutting her in with their towers, will be like a dream, like a vision of the night.
7 The multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all who fight against her and her stronghold, and who distress her, will be like a dream, a vision of the night.
8 And it will be like a man desiring food, and dreaming that he is feasting; but when he is awake there is nothing in his mouth: or like a man in need of water, dreaming that he is drinking; but when he is awake he is feeble and his soul is full of desire: so will all the nations be which make war on Mount Zion.
8 It will be like when a hungry man dreams, and behold, he eats; but he awakes, and his hunger isn’t satisfied; or like when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he drinks; but he awakes, and behold, he is faint, and he is still thirsty. The multitude of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion will be like that.
9 Be surprised and full of wonder; let your eyes be covered and be blind: be overcome, but not with wine; go with uncertain steps, but not because of strong drink.
9 Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.
10 For the Lord has sent on you a spirit of deep sleep; and by him your eyes, the prophets, are shut, and your heads, the seers, are covered.
10 For Yahweh has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, the prophets; and he has covered your heads, the seers.
11 And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book which is shut, which men give to one who has knowledge of writing, saying, Make clear to us what is in the book: and he says, I am not able to, for the book is shut:
11 All vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is educated, saying, “Read this, please;” and he says, “I can’t, for it is sealed;”
12 And they give it to one without learning, saying, Make clear to us what is in the book: and he says, I have no knowledge of writing.
12 and the book is delivered to one who is not educated, saying, “Read this, please;” and he says, “I can’t read.”
13 And the Lord said, because this people come near to me with their mouths, and give honour to me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, and their fear of me is false, a rule given them by the teaching of men;
13 The Lord said, “Because this people draws near with their mouth and honors me with their lips, but they have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which has been taught;
14 For this cause I will again do a strange thing among this people, a thing to be wondered at: and the wisdom of their wise men will come to nothing, and the sense of their guides will no longer be seen.
14 therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the understanding of their prudent men will be hidden.”
15 Cursed are those who go deep to keep their designs secret from the Lord, and whose works are in the dark, and who say, Who sees us? and who has knowledge of our acts?
15 Woe to those who deeply hide their counsel from Yahweh, and whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, “Who sees us?” and “Who knows us?”
16 You are turning things upside down! Is the wet earth the same to you as the one who is forming it? will the thing made say of him who made it, He made me not: or the thing formed say of him who gave it form, He has no knowledge?
16 You turn things upside down! Should the potter be thought to be like clay, that the thing made should say about him who made it, “He didn’t make me;” or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?
17 In a very short time Lebanon will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will seem like a wood.
17 Isn’t it yet a very little while, and Lebanon will be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field will be regarded as a forest?
18 And in that day those whose ears are stopped will be hearing the words of the book; and the eyes of the blind will see through the mist and the dark.
18 In that day, the deaf will hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind will see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
19 And the poor will have their joy in the Lord increased, and those in need will be glad in the Holy One of Israel.
19 The humble also will increase their joy in Yahweh, and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the cruel one has come to nothing; and those who make sport of the Lord are gone; and those who are watching to do evil are cut off:
20 For the ruthless is brought to nothing, and the scoffer ceases, and all those who are alert to do evil are cut off—
21 Who give help to a man in a wrong cause, and who put a net for the feet of him who gives decisions in the public place, taking away a man's right without cause.
21 who cause a person to be indicted by a word, and lay a snare for one who reproves in the gate, and who deprive the innocent of justice with false testimony.
22 For this reason the Lord, the saviour of Abraham, says about the family of Jacob, Jacob will not now be put to shame, or his face be clouded with fear.
22 Therefore Yahweh, who redeemed Abraham, says concerning the house of Jacob: “Jacob shall no longer be ashamed, neither shall his face grow pale.
23 But when they, the children of Jacob, see the work of my hands among them, they will give honour to my name; yes, they will give honour to the Holy One of Jacob, and go in fear of the God of Israel.
23 But when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in the middle of him, they will sanctify my name. Yes, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Those whose hearts were turned away from him will get knowledge, and those who made an outcry against him will give attention to his teaching.
24 They also who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who grumble will receive instruction.”
Cross references (24)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Amos 4:4–5; 2 Samuel 5:9; Micah 6:6–7; Hosea 5:6; Ezekiel 43:15–16
- 2 Isaiah 5:25–30; Revelation 19:17–18; Zephaniah 1:7–8; Ezekiel 39:17; Isaiah 34:6
- 3 Luke 19:43–44; Ezekiel 21:22; 2 Kings 24:11–12; 2 Kings 18:17; Matthew 22:7
- 4 Isaiah 8:19; Psalm 44:25; Isaiah 3:8; Isaiah 51:23; Isaiah 2:11–21
- 5 1 Thessalonians 5:3; Isaiah 37:36; Isaiah 30:13; Isaiah 31:3; Isaiah 17:13–14
- 6 Mark 13:8; Matthew 24:7; Revelation 11:19; Revelation 16:18; 1 Samuel 2:10
- 7 Job 20:8; Zechariah 12:9; Micah 4:11–12; Psalm 73:20; Zechariah 14:12–15
- 8 Isaiah 44:12; Psalm 73:20; Isaiah 10:7–16; 2 Chronicles 32:21
- 9 Isaiah 51:21–22; Revelation 17:6; Isaiah 19:14; Isaiah 33:13–14; Isaiah 49:26
- 10 Romans 11:8; Isaiah 44:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:9–12; Isaiah 6:9–10; Acts 28:26–27
- 11 Matthew 13:11; Daniel 12:4; Isaiah 8:16; Daniel 12:9; Matthew 11:25
- 12 John 7:15–16; Isaiah 29:18; Hosea 4:6; Isaiah 28:12–13; Jeremiah 5:4
- 13 Jeremiah 12:2; Ezekiel 33:31–33; Mark 7:2–13; Matthew 15:2–9; Jeremiah 3:10
- 14 Habakkuk 1:5; 1 Corinthians 1:19–24; Isaiah 28:21; Jeremiah 49:7; John 9:39–41
- 15 Ezekiel 8:12; Isaiah 47:10; Isaiah 30:1; Psalm 94:7–9; Zephaniah 1:12
- 16 Romans 9:19–21; Isaiah 64:8; Isaiah 45:9–11; Psalm 94:8–9; Jeremiah 18:1–10
- 17 Isaiah 32:15; Matthew 19:30; Hebrews 10:37; Ezekiel 20:46–47; Psalm 84:6
- 18 Matthew 11:5; Isaiah 35:5; Proverbs 20:12; Ephesians 1:17–19; Psalm 119:18
- 19 James 2:5; Isaiah 61:1; Matthew 11:29; Matthew 5:5; Psalm 25:9
- 20 Micah 2:1; Isaiah 28:14–22; Luke 16:14; Isaiah 29:5; Isaiah 59:4
- 21 Amos 5:10–12; James 5:6; Acts 3:14; Jeremiah 26:2–8; Luke 11:53–54
- 22 Isaiah 45:17; Jeremiah 30:10; Isaiah 51:2; 1 Peter 1:18–19; Joel 2:27
- 23 Isaiah 19:25; Ephesians 2:10; Isaiah 45:11; Isaiah 8:13; Isaiah 5:16
- 24 Isaiah 28:7; Hebrews 5:2; Luke 15:17–19; Revelation 20:2–3; 1 Timothy 1:13–15
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
For [the Scripture] saith in a certain place, "This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me." And again: "They bless with their mouth, but curse with their heart." And again it saith, "They loved Him with their mouth, and lied to Him with their tongue; but their heart was not right with Him, neither …
As also Isaiah says: "This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me: howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching the doctrines and the commandments of men." He does not call the law given by Moses commandments of men, but the traditions of the elders themselves which they had invented, and in upholding which …
But He fulfills what the holy prophets truly predicted regarding Him: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nought the prudence of the prudent." For He does not destroy and bring to nought His own gift in them, but what they arrogate to themselves, and do not hold of Him.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
Have ye not heard the prophet, saying (or rather God by the prophet), "This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me?" Therefore, lest this be our case too, wipe thou out the letters, or rather the impressions, which the devil hath engraven in thy soul; and bring me a heart set free from worldly …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
… a son; and if a son, then an heir through God." And "like as Christ was raised up from the dead by (dia) the glory of God the Father." ^ Isaiah, moreover, says, "Woe unto them that make deep counsel and not through the Lord;" and many proofs of the use of this phrase in the case of the Spirit …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 8 (1895)